---

SIGN UP  ›  Day 1  ›  Day 2  ›  Day 3  ›  Day 4  ›  Day 5

---

Empower students to guide their own learning

If you’re worried about students not staying engaged, especially in remote or hybrid learning: this is for you! With PBL, your focus is developing students to guide their own learning experience. This may be new for some students (or for you), so it can take time to develop.

There are two big concepts of high-quality Project Based Learning to keep in mind: 1) Engaging and Coaching your students, and 2) giving students Voice and Choice. Let's zoom in on how these might look this year...
 

---

Engage & Coach

In PBL at its best, your role with students is more of a coach than a traditional teacher. You're encouraging, redirecting, and building skills as needed, as they navigate their own way forward. Sometimes you engage in new learning right alongside your students. This might feel especially true sometimes with remote learning!

When navigating remote or hybrid learning, it might be tempting to slip back into a traditional teaching role. However, letting go of the reins here may be more important than ever. As students are likely spending more time outside of the physical classroom, you can lean into coaching them (and perhaps their families!) to direct their own learning.

For remote learning... Getting to know your students will likely require some more effort and intention this year. Try providing your students with a survey about their personal interests and skills. Or schedule a 20-minute call with an adult in their life to tell you about them. The time you invest in relationship building will be worth it!
 

---

 

Student Voice & Choice

As always in PBL, students have some choices for how they engage in and share their learning. When students have a say in their learning, and feel they can express themselves, they’re naturally more invested in the process and the outcome. You might be surprised at the response!

Choice is not just about the final product they create. It might be how they get started, or the tools they use along the way. Especially in remote and hybrid classrooms, the range of choices that learners can make is expansive. Similarly, there are many ways students can express their voice, from the topics they’re interested in exploring to how they communicate their emotions and ideas. (Voice & choice seems simple, but this concept goes deep!)

For remote learning... Consider the needs of your students in this year’s specific context. There might be a range of technology, access, or support that’s a more natural fit for particular students right now. Use what you know about your students to develop choices that are good fits for their interests, skills, and needs. (See above for some tips!)